


Leaving Him Alone

by TempusNoKitsune



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Charles Is a Big Dorkface, Erik is a Sweetheart, Friendship/Love, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 21:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11044731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TempusNoKitsune/pseuds/TempusNoKitsune
Summary: So, he decides to leave Erik alone as much as possible, which works out just about as well as all other things do for Charles. That is, terribly.





	Leaving Him Alone

Charles is rather small for a 17 year old boy. He is aware of that, almost painfully so. However, there’s not all that much that one can do to persuade biology to correspond with one's own ideals, and therefore, he is short, skinny, and painfully awkward. Though the awkward part isn’t so much biology as his own doing in ways of interest, personality, and his tendency to talk too much when he doesn’t want to, and too little when he does. This may not be unusual for the ordinary teenager, but Charles isn’t really just any ordinary teenager. He is most certainly more mature if nothing else.

It’s for this reason that he expects he’ll be rather unpopular in college. That and he’s rather smart which can often tip a person one way or another. Either being loved and clung to or hated and ostracised. Either way, he’s happy just to get away from highschool, even though he’s only just turned 17, having earlier skipped a grade.

The way that people look at him tell him that they all know that he’s younger, but to his relief most of the college kids above freshman level seem not to care, except for maybe his room mate. 

Erik Lehnsherr is not what others would call a “people person”. In fact, he rather prefered to stay in their room, making for awkward periods of prolonged silence and discomfort. Charles, after just one week of living with the guy, knows that his boyish charm is wasted. He’s just a little fly buzzing around Erik’s head, being terribly annoying, no doubt.

When Charles first met Erik, he couldn’t deny that he was a bit intimidated. The guy was built like a thin waisted mountain, and had eyes of unwavering steel. He didn’t talk much, and for the first two months, hardly even says a word to him. However, Charles being Charles, insists on talking as much as humanly possible, starting up a superfluous amount of one sided conversations that ended mostly with an uninterested and unimpressed look from the other. 

So, he decides to leave Erik alone as much as possible, which works out just about as well as all other things do for Charles. That is, terribly. 

As soon as he has decided to not bother the other, he begins to find himself misplacing things and asking for his help. He has trouble with history and asks for Erik’s notes. He gets kicked out of a party and mopes on their couch, greedily snacking on the chips Erik offers him.

In fact, he thinks, he spends more time with a rather unresponsive Erik than he does with anyone else at the school. He rants and raves to the man, hardly noticing the faces, the emotions that play on the others face. He stretches out too much on the couch, placing his feet in Erik’s lap, or tucking them under his thighs when his computer is taking up his lap.

When he turns 18 he drinks too much and Erik spends the night gently rubbing his back before laughing at him lightly and leaving some water and aspirin by his bed for the morning. When he goes on his first date in college Erik looks almost like he’s about to block the door, and maybe Charles should have let them because the date goes horribly and he comes back feeling like a child. 

It’s nearly two years later, the day after his 19th birthday, that he realizes he’s completely botched his plans of leaving his room mate alone. He bites down on his tongue, looks at how he’s situated on the couch- all too much in Erik’s space  -and blanches.

“I’m sorry.”

He blurts out that night after they’ve both had dinner. They’re sitting on their couch, the empty take out cartons still sitting on the table in front of them as the T.V. drones on about some episode he’s already seen too many times to count.

“What?”

He bites down on his lip. Releases. Bites down again.

“I’m sorry. I-I meant to stop bothering you. To leave you alone, and I’m afraid I’ve done just the opposite. You really must think I’m terrible…”

“Not particularly.”

“I know you don’t really- wait….you don’t think I’m absolutely horrid?” 

“Maybe a bit annoying at times, but overall you’re not too bad.”

Coming from Erik he’s just got the highest of praises, and he finds himself beaming like an idiot, only to see a slight quirk of Erik’s lips as well. Charles feels like his face is going to split, and since when did Erik’s smiles make his heart feel like it was going to rip out of his chest?

“Well, good, yes. Okay, yeah. Thats-yeah.” And oh God Charles shut your gaping mouth, you’re like a fish out of water.

He grins like an idiot for the rest of the night, flashing the smile at his companion before changing and slipping under the covers of his bead. Of course, as soon as his head hits the pillow his mind starts racing and his childhood friend, self doubt, rears its ugly head. And somehow, even after Erik expressly told him -sort of- that he wasn’t bothering him, Charles went to bed more determined than ever before to get out of the others hair.

Of course this starts with him having forgotten to set his alarm the night before, leading Erik to forcefully shake him awake, and he spends his entire first class moping over the fact that he had already failed a plan that he hadn’t yet gotten the chance to put into motion before he decides that the morning didn’t at all count. Nope. Didn’t even happen.

So began Charles Xavier’s great attempt to stop being an absolute pest to Erik Lehnsherr, which actually turns out to be quite a lonely endeavor. Actually, he had never really noticed just how much time he had spent with Erik. Whether it was simply sitting in there room, talking or in companionable silence, or gravitating around the man at parties or dinners or- oh God….did he have a crush?!

Two years ago he might have begrudgingly accepted the possibility but now, now he was almost 20 years old, and he did not get crushes. Most certainly not crushes on the very person whom he was trying to give some personal space. The person with softly red hair, piercing ocean eyes, a toothy white smile, lean waist, strong-

Alrighty, he was most absolutely screwed. Well done Charles, fall for the person you’re supposed to give personal space. Bravo. He pitched forward, slamming his forehead right on into his desk with quite a loud and painful thumping noise. Which was right at the moment that Erik decided to walk in.

“Trying to give yourself a concussion again?”

He groaned unintelligibly, curling in on himself as he felt more than heard Erik move closer.

“You don’t smell like alcohol.”

His head snaps up, and a curt, “No” makes its way out of his mouth before he catches himself, getting up to his feet and trying to excuse himself.

It’s then that Erik actually grabs onto his far arm, meaning that he was now faced bodily with the others warm adonis body. 

_ Why? What have I done to deserve this. Dear God, look at his waist. _

“Charles, what’s wrong?”

Crystal blues kept themselves turned down, knowing that if he look up he wouldn’t be able to help himself. He’d probably do something terribly stupid, like spill everything, or try to kiss him.

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

He tried, futilely, to pull his arm away. “No, really.”

“You’ve been avoiding me. I thought that we were getting along.”

Alright, ouch. “We-yes. I mean, I’m fine Erik really, please let me-”

“Look at me.”

A small shake of the head.

“Charles, look me in the eyes and tell me that nothing’s wrong.”

Well, there goes all his hard work, because Charles was many things and weak for the things that he cared about was most definitely one of those things. He lifted his head a bit defiantly, his chest clenching almost painfully as blue met steel.

“Alright Erik, everything is wrong! I’ve always been a bother, first to my parents, then to my sister, and now to you. I promised myself that I would leave you alone and I failed miserably! And of course I go and-”

“Charles-”

“Make it even worse by fuc-”

“CHARLES-”

“Falling for-”

And then his words turned to a jumbled up mess in Erik’s mouth. And okay, yes, wow, that was a lot better than he’d imagined it would be and holy shit Erik was kissing him…

“...you.”

Erik let out a low chuckle, breath puffing out over plush red lips.

“That's very nice Charles, but I think I rather like your company.”

‘“Alright, yeah. I, okay. Does this mean-”

“Yes.”

“But-”

“If it makes you feel any better, I’d considered us to be dating about a month ago.”

Erik pushed gently past him to settle on the couch, easily patting the space next to him, and Charles took a few seconds just to comprehend everything.

“And you didn’t tell me!?”


End file.
